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Abstract:

Described are methods of developing an iconographical, phonological,
orthography for any spoken language. Such "iconophonological"
orthographies can be applied to languages for which no written form
exists, or can be used to supplement or replace extant writing systems.
The iconicity of the orthographies represents features of the vocal
tract, which limits the number of icons to easily learned sets. This
simplification, and the phonological correspondence between the icons and
spoken language, makes the orthographies easy to learn. The orthographies
can use letters that represent the linguistic characteristics of the
spoken language. By incorporation of cultural aesthetics, some
embodiments bring a sense of ethnic belonging, and thus create an
immediate emotional bond with the orthography.

Claims:

1-21. (canceled)

22. A phonological orthography comprising: a plurality of graphemes,
including vowel graphemes and consonant graphemes, each grapheme
iconically depicting a phonological feature.

23. The orthography of claim 22, wherein each consonant grapheme depicts
one of a plurality of organs of articulation.

24. The orthography of claim 23, wherein the organs of articulation
include at least two of lips, tongue, and glottis.

25. The orthography of claim 24, wherein at least a subset of the
consonant graphemes depicts a secondary point of articulation.

26. The orthography of claim 25, wherein the secondary point of
articulation includes at least one of an extra-oral constriction, a place
of constriction, and a degree of constriction.

27. The orthography of claim 22, wherein the orthography consists of a
set of graphemes, and wherein substantially all of the graphemes in the
set of graphemes iconically depict at least one of a primary and a
secondary point of articulation.

28. A method of transliterating words represented using a first
orthography to corresponding homophonic representations using an
iconophonological orthography, the method comprising: providing a
plurality of graphemes, including vowel graphemes and consonant graphemes
iconically depicting phonological features of a vocal tract; and
presenting each of the homophonic representations as assemblies of one or
more of the graphemes; wherein each homophonic representation illustrates
at least one phonological gesture employed within a vocal tract to
enunciate a corresponding one of the words.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein each of the vowel graphemes
iconically depicts a shape of the vocal tract.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein each of the vowel graphemes
iconically depicts a direction of air flow within the vocal tract.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein each of the vowel graphemes
iconically depicts a degree of openness of the vocal tract.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein each of the consonant graphemes
iconically depicts at least one of lips, a forward tongue position, a
central tongue position, and a back tongue position.

33. The method of claim 28, wherein each consonant grapheme in at least a
subset of the consonant graphemes depicts voicing of the respective
consonant phoneme.

34-40. (canceled)

41. A tangible medium of expression comprising: written sentences
expressed using an icophongraphic orthography to represent words of a
language, the orthography including vowel graphemes and consonant
graphemes, each grapheme iconically depicting a phonological feature.

42. The medium of claim 41, wherein each consonant grapheme depicts one
of a plurality of organs of articulation.

43. The medium of claim 42, wherein the organs of articulation include at
least two of lips, tongue, and glottis.

44. The medium of claim 43, wherein at least a subset of the consonant
graphemes depicts a secondary point of articulation.

45. The medium of claim 44, wherein secondary points of articulation
includes at least one of an extra-oral constriction, a place of
constriction, and a degree of constriction.

46. The medium of claim 41, wherein at least one of the consonant
graphemes includes a diacritic, and wherein a placement of the diacritic
within the grapheme indicates a position in a vocal tract.

47. The medium of claim 41, wherein the words comprise syllables, at
least one syllable expressed using one of the consonant graphemes
depicting a primary organ of articulation in an onset position and a
diacritic in a coda position.

48. The medium of claim 47, wherein the diacritic depicts a point of
articulation.

49. The medium of claim 48, wherein a physical placement of the diacritic
distinguishes between points of articulation.

50. The medium of claim 48, wherein the coda position lacks an iconic
depiction of a second primary organ of articulation.

51. The medium of claim 41, wherein the orthography consists of a set of
graphemes, including the vowel graphemes and consonant graphemes, and
wherein substantially all of the graphemes in the set of graphemes
iconically depict at least one of a primary and a secondary point of
articulation.

[0002] Writing is the use of symbols to fix language onto a tangible
medium of expression. In order to understand the nature of writing we
make reference to two fields of study. The first is Grammatology, the
scientific field dedicated to describe and analyze the origin, evolution
and typology of existing writing systems. The second is Linguistics,
responsible for investigating the relations between the written and the
spoken forms of language. Within the field of Linguistic, Phonology is
the branch that deals precisely with the analysis of the speech sounds,
being the most relevant in terms of explaining how the different writing
systems reflect and represent different levels of sound structure.

[0003] Writing evolved from drawing. Ancient drawings developed into
pictograms, stylized iconic graphs that represented actual things.
Pictograms developed into logograms, conventional graphic forms that
represent the morphemes, usually entire words. Later in history
phonograms were invented, based in the concept of representing speech
sound units, instead of entire words.

[0004] Ancient logograms explored the principle of iconicity, or
resemblance, making the symbols easy to remember. The hieroglyph for
"man" resembled the figure of a man. But because the number of words that
can be uttered in any language is potentially infinite, logographic
systems tend to have thousands of symbols. With the advent of phonograms,
writing became much more economic, since the number of units of speech
sounds used by any given language is much smaller than the potential
number of words it can have. On the other hand, the very convenient
principle of iconicity was abandoned.

[0005] Phonograms can express different levels of phonological
representation. Syllabaries use the syllable as their unit of
representation, as the Japanese Katakana, in opposition to segmental
phonograms. Among the segmental phonograms, the main forms are abugidas,
abjads and alphabets. In the abugidas, consonants are prominently
represented and vowels are obligatory but less prominent, as in Devanagri
(Hindi). The abjads basically represent only the consonants, leaving the
vowels unmarked or sub-marked, as some forms of Arabic do. Alphabets
represent the phonemes, both vowels and consonants, as do Greek. Some
alphabets, like Hangul Korean, are partially featural, that is, they also
represent some of the phonological features (or gestures) involved in the
production of the phonemes.

[0006] Nearly all existing orthographies are not indigenous, but foreign.
They were not created or developed for the specific language they
represent, but were historically borrowed from foreign languages. Because
languages are so diverse, the orthographies had to be largely adapted,
adjusted or even distorted in order to serve the linguistic
characteristics of the new languages. Orthographies that appear as
diverse as Arabic, Latin, Hindi, Korean and even the Cherokee Syllabary,
are all derived from possibly only one script created at the Middle
Bronze Age in Serabit, Asia, and spread as a side effect of its users
migration or expansion. Even this ancient Proto-Sinaitic alphabet, put
together by illiterate Canaanite turquoise miners, was itself already a
frail adaptation of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. In many places of the world
certain writing systems were (and still are) ineffective precisely
because of a lack of cultural bond.

[0007] In the course of this historical world-wide process of script
adaptation, and due to natural process of language change through the
centuries, most writing systems lost its original logic of
representation, giving origin to many flawed hybrid orthographies. Hybrid
systems mix different and even incompatible levels of phonological
representation resulting in very complex orthographies. Japanese, for
instance, mixes Chinese characters, which are logograms, with several
types of syllabic phonograms that stand for the Japanese affixes. English
orthography is an alphabetic phonogram in which the letters represent
phonemes only eventually. Instead of employing a one-to-one relation
between letters and phonemes, English employs dozens of arbitrary
combinations of letters, called phonics, which have usually a
several-to-one or a one-to-several relation with the phonemes. The
English phoneme /f/ occurring in coda position, for instance, is
represented as "if" in the word "off", as "gh" in the word "enough" and
as "ph" in the word "hieroglyph". In a perfectly phonological alphabet,
usually called a phonemic alphabet, the phonemes and letters would
correspond perfectly in two directions: a writer could predict the
spelling of a word given its pronunciation, and a speaker could predict
the pronunciation of a word given its spelling.

[0008] Most extant phonographic orthographies are not only foreign, but
also hybrid and employ symbols that are totally arbitrary. No wonder why
years of schooling are necessary for students to acquire reading and
writing skills. It also explains the high levels of illiteracy even in
countries where literacy is highly valued, and also the high level of
functional illiteracy even after many years of schooling. Unfortunately,
the situation is not better if logographic systems are used. A vast
number of logograms are required to represent a language, so becoming
literate in a logographic system can take many years. As a consequence,
many speakers of languages represented logographically are functionally
illiterate.

[0009] Featural scripts represent the utterances using symbols that
provide visual representations of the phonological features involved in
the production of speech sounds. For instance, all sounds pronounced with
the lips, that is, all sounds that share a positive specification for the
feature (labial), may have some element in common. Visible Speech, also
known as the Physiological Alphabet, is an example of a featural script
invented in 1867 by Alexander Melville Bell, the father of Alexander
Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. Visible Speech, however, was
never intended to be used as an orthographic system, that is, a system
that would allow people to creatively and productively read and write
their own languages. It was created as a phonetic alphabet, as an aid to
help hearing-impaired people to learn how to speak, or to teach
foreigners how to pronounce the English words. In this sense, Visual
Speech was not an orthographic writing system, but a pronunciation
transcribing tool, similar to IPA--the International Phonetic Alphabet.

[0010] Some orthographies are partially featural. In the Latin or Roman
alphabet, for example, the letters "b" and "p" look similar and are both
articulated using the lips; however, the letter "m" is also articulated
using the lips, but is completely dissimilar, while the similar-looking
"q" is not labial. In Korean hangul, all four labial consonants are based
on the same basic element. This pattern does not hold across the
orthography, however, so the featural elements of hangul tend to pass
unnoticed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0011]FIG. 1 is a flowchart 100 illustrating a method of developing an
iconographical, phonological, orthography for any spoken language. Such
"iconophonological" orthographies can be applied to languages for which
no written form exists, or can be used to supplement or replace extant
writing systems.

[0012]FIG. 2 is a flowchart 200 detailing how an onset consonant phoneme
is derived in accordance with one embodiment. The derivation of each
phoneme proceeds as follows.

[0013]FIG. 3A depicts exemplary iconic representations of the five organs
of constriction, each one of them implying a corresponding place of
articulation where the constriction is produced, used as glyphs for
expressing consonant phonemes.

[0015]FIG. 4 depicts six diacritical marks, or diacritics, that can be
used alone or in combination with other glyphs to complement the
phonological specifications of the segment of General American (GA)
English.

[0016]FIG. 5 is a flowchart 500 illustrating the application of the
procedure of FIG. 1 to the consonant phoneme "V," as in Victor, to
develop an iconophonological grapheme in accordance with one embodiment.

[0017]FIG. 6 depicts a consonant constellation 600 for GA English
arranged in columns by primary organ of articulation.

[0018]FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 detailing how a vowel phoneme is derived
in accordance with one embodiment.

[0020]FIG. 8B illustrates exemplary iconic representations of
phonological gestures used to express a pair of diphthongs, which are
gliding monosyllabic speech sounds that start at or near the articulatory
position for one vowel and move to or toward the position of another.

[0021]FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 illustrating the construction of a vowel
grapheme using the steps of FIG. 7.

[0022]FIG. 10 depicts a vowel constellation 1000 for GA English arranged
in rows and columns to indicate the degree of openness and the degree of
frontness, respectively.

[0023] FIG. 11 depicts two vowel graphemes in accordance with one
embodiment.

[0024]FIG. 12 depicts five vowel graphemes, one for each diphthong in GA
English.

[0025]FIG. 13 shows an iconophonological orthography for GA English in
accordance with one embodiment.

[0026]FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1400 illustrating a method of organizing
graphemes developed as discussed previously to formulate written words
and sentences that parallel the writing structure normally used for the
target language.

[0027]FIG. 15 is a flowchart 1500 illustrating a method of
transliterating words expressed in a first orthography--GA English--into
the iconophonological orthography depicted in FIG. 13.

[0028]FIG. 16 illustrates how a reader of the iconophonological
orthography in accordance with the embodiments described in connection
with FIG. 13 can sound out the word "system" derived in the example of
FIG. 15.

[0029]FIG. 17A illustrates how the graphical representations of the
single-syllable word "springs," a CCCVCCC syllable, can be simplified in
accordance with one embodiment.

[0030]FIG. 17B illustrates how "strengths," a CCCVCCC syllable, can be
simplified using the procedure discussed in connection with FIG. 17A.

[0031]FIG. 17c depicts iconophonological representations 1710, 1715,
1720, and 1725 of single-syllable words to illustrate how such syllables
can be condensed in accordance with one embodiment.

[0032]FIG. 18 is a flowchart 1800 illustrating a method by which
orthographies in accordance with some embodiments can be stylized to
reflect cultural aesthetics of the population for which the new
orthography is to be introduced. Such adaptations can increase
sociolinguistics acceptance of the orthography.

[0033]FIG. 19 depicts an orthography in accordance with an embodiment
that includes 31 graphemes to represent Beijing Mandarin.

[0034]FIG. 20 depicts graphic elements used to represent labial
consonants, and references them to phonemes, phonetics, and Pinyin forms
to facilitate pronunciation.

[0035]FIG. 21 depicts graphemes used to represent velar and alveolar
consonants, and references them to phonemes, phonetics, and Pinyin forms
to facilitate pronunciation, and to a reference code for use with an
embodiment of a Uniskript® Mandarin (UM) keyboard.

[0036]FIG. 22 depicts graphemes used to represent palatal/retroflex
consonants and single vowels with the same references provided
previously.

[0037]FIG. 23 depicts graphemes used to represent crescent diphthongs,
decrescent diphthongs, and triphthongs with the same references provided
previously.

[0038]FIG. 24 depicts graphemes used to represent high-high diphthongs,
single vowels with alveolar coda, and single vowels with velar coda with
the same references provided previously.

[0039]FIG. 25 depicts graphemes used to represent single vowels with
retroflex coda, vowel glides with alveolar coda, and vowel glides with
velar coda using the same references provided previously.

[0040]FIG. 26 depicts graphemes used to represent tones using the same
references provided previously.

[0041] FIGS. 27A and 27B are two sheets of a questionnaire that may be
employed by an analyst to develop orthographies in the manner detailed
above.

[0042]FIG. 28 provides a brief, general description of a suitable
computing environment in which the claimed subject matter may be
implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0043]FIG. 1 is a flowchart 100 illustrating a method of developing an
iconographical, phonological, orthography for any spoken language. Such
"iconophonological" orthographies can be applied to languages for which
no written form exists, or can be used to supplement or replace extant
writing systems. As described below in detail, the iconicity of the
orthographies represents features of the vocal tract, which limits the
number of icons to easily learned sets. This simplification, and the
phonological correspondence between the icons and spoken language, makes
orthographies produced in accordance with the embodiment of FIG. 1
considerably easier to learn than conventional orthographies.

[0044] Iconophonological orthographies of the type disclosed herein attain
economy by making use of the most primitive level of phonological
representation acquainted by the current Phonological Theory--the
phonological gesture/feature. This ultimate depth in phonological
representation casts away hybridism and makes it possible to represent
even the most complex language using less than thirty symbols, each one
of them having a transparent one-to-one correspondence with one specific
phonological gesture/feature of that language.

[0045] These iconophonological orthographies also break with the
foreignness in writing by allowing the creation of writing systems that
are totally indigenous, using letters designed objectively to represent
the linguistic characteristics of the spoken language. By incorporation
of cultural aesthetics, some embodiments bring a sense of ethnic
belonging, and thus create an immediate emotional bond with the
orthography.

[0046] The iconophonological orthography of the type disclosed herein
breaks with the arbitrariness in writing by bringing back the iconicity
principle, allowing systems that are intuitive and easily learned. The
symbols graphically resemble the pronunciation of the phonological
gesture involved in the sound depicted.

[0047] The process of FIG. 1 begins with the identification of all
phonemes in the target language (105). As is well understood by those of
skill in the art, phonemes are traditionally described as the smallest
segmental units of sound used to form meaningful contrasts between
utterances. Phonological dictionaries break words into those meaningful
segmental units, and are readily available for many languages and their
variants. The vowel graphemes can be derived before the consonant
graphemes, or the consonant and vowel graphemes can be derived using a
hybrid process.

[0048] Next, consonant and vowel graphemes are constructed for each
phoneme (110 and 115). As used herein, a "grapheme" is a unit of written
language that corresponds to a combination of features or gestures
comprising a sound. Graphemes include one or more glyphs, which in this
context are individual marks that contribute to provide the full
phonological specification of a grapheme. These constructions employ
iconic and phonological graphical elements, as detailed below in
connection with later figures. The order of 110 and 115 can be reversed,
and there is no need to complete one type of grapheme before working on
another.

[0049] The writing systems for different languages arrange their symbols
differently. The orthography used for the English language, for example,
represents language segmentally using letters and words written from left
to right. Other writing structures are e.g. syllabic, and may be arranged
along different axes. Though not necessary, orthographies in accordance
with the embodiments described herein are arranged in the manner of the
traditional writing structure for the target language (120). Such
arrangement facilitates adoption by those familiar with the traditional
writing structure and facilitates interlineating iconophonological text
with traditional writing.

[0050] In the final process of FIG. 1, cultural aesthetics can be applied
to the iconophonological orthography developed in 105 through 120. This
process gives the newly derived orthography an appearance consistent with
the traditional writing structure, or may use other cultural cues to
tailor the orthography to the people or culture that are the intended
audience for the newly derived system. Adaptation of new orthographies to
the cultural aesthetics of the target audience facilitates adoption.

[0051] The process outlined in FIG. 1 can be applied to any spoken
language or variant thereof. For ease of illustration, the following
examples are based on an English accent termed "General American," for
which suitable phonological frameworks are well known to those of skill
in the art.

[0052]FIG. 2 is a flowchart 200 detailing how an onset consonant phoneme
is derived in accordance with one embodiment. The derivation of each
phoneme proceeds as follows. First, at 210, an organ of constriction is
identified for the consonantal phoneme. This organ, illustrated in a
cross section 212 of the human head that highlights the vocal tract,
might be the lips 215, the tongue 220, or the larynx 225. In the instance
of the tongue, the primary organ might be further specified as the tip,
body, or root. As used herein, the "vocal tract" is made up of the
cavities and structures above the vocal folds, and is used to shape and
alter airflow and sound vibration into distinctive speech sounds. The
vocal tract is commonly understood to include a laryngeal cavity, a
pharynx, an oral cavity, a labial cavity and a nasal cavity.

[0053] Step 230 is to identify what, if any, is the displaced point of
constriction, which is sometimes referred to as the point of
articulation. Usually the organ of constriction produces its constriction
in its neutral or implicit place or articulation. Neutrally placed
constrictions are called "placed" constrictions. When the constriction
organ is the (lower) lip, for instance, its neutral point of constriction
is the (upper) lip. This is how the labial sounds are produced. However,
if the organ of constriction produces constriction by moving away from
its neutral position, advancing or retracting to touch a different point
of constriction, the method specifies this process as "displaced"
constriction. In the case of the lip, if instead of touching the upper
lip, it retracts and touches the upper teeth, the sound produced will be
a labio-dental one. This may be marked by a diacritic that represents the
teeth placed above the grapheme for labial. In this example, the
displaced constrictions can be produced in the dental point 250, the
post-alveolar point 255, the retroflex point 260, and the uvular point
265.

[0054] Next, at step 245 the degree of vocal-tract constriction is
selected from among the general categories for the language of interest.
In this embodiment, these categories are: 1) closed, which is generally
used for stops; 2) critical, which is generally used for fricative
sounds; 3) mid, commonly applied to rhotics; 4) normal, for semivowels;
and 5) open, for vowels.

[0055] Step 270 is to identify any extra-oral constriction used to
enunciate the consonant under consideration. In this example, these
extra-oral constriction possibilities are identified as nasal, lax
glottis, constricted glottis, pharyngealization, voicing, and lip
roundness. Finally, at step 275, an iconic grapheme is then assembled
based on the findings from steps 210, 230, 245, and 270. As detailed
below, graphemes include one or more glyphs, which in this context are
individual marks that contribute to provide the full phonological
specification of a grapheme.

[0056]FIG. 3A depicts exemplary iconic representations of the five organs
of constriction, each one of them implying a corresponding place of
articulation where the constriction is produced, used as glyphs for
expressing consonant phonemes. From left to right, a polygon 305
represents the lips, an inverted "V" 310 the tip of the tongue, an
inverted "U" 315 the body of the tongue, a step 320 the root of the
tongue, and an ellipse 325 the larynx.

[0057]FIG. 3B illustrates the iconic representations of the primary
organs of constriction introduced in FIG. 3A absent cross sections 212
for ease of illustration. The following discussion details the
development of an orthography of General American (GA) English. GA
English may include but does not require the larynx representation for
graphemes, so the larynx icon may be omitted.

[0058]FIG. 4 depicts six diacritical marks, or diacritics, that can be
used alone or in combination with other glyphs to complement the
phonological specifications of the segment of GA English. These include a
"voiced" diacritic 405, a "teeth" diacritic 410, a "fricative" diacritic
415, a "nasal" diacritic 420, a "lateral " diacritic 425, and a
"retroflex" diacritic 430. Voiced diacritic 405 indicates that the
corresponding consonant is voiced; diacritic 410 that the corresponding
consonant is enunciated using the teeth; diacritic 415 that the
corresponding consonant is enunciated using enough friction to create a
sibilant, hissing, or buzzing quality; nasal diacritic 420 that the
corresponding consonant resonates in the nasal cavity (nose); tongue
diacritic 425 that the corresponding consonant is enunciated using the
laterals of the tongue lowered (as in the pronunciation of the English
"L"); and tongue diacritic 430 that the corresponding consonant is
articulated with a retroflex tongue (curved towards the back of the oral
cavity).

[0059]FIG. 5 is a flowchart 500 illustrating the application of the
procedure of FIG. 1 to the consonant phoneme "V," as in Victor, to
develop an iconophonological grapheme in accordance with one embodiment.
First, at 505, the lips are identified as the primary organ of
constriction, and icon 305 of FIG. 3 is selected accordingly. (In
general, the first digit of each numerically identified element refers to
the Figure in which the element was introduced.) This identification can
be done by anyone familiar with the pronunciation of the phoneme in
question. The reader is invited to pronounce the "V" sound, and will
doubtless observe that the lips are the primary organ of constriction,
and not the tongue or larynx.

[0060] Next, place of constriction is characterized in 510. In enunciating
the "V" sound, one will readily observe that the lower tip retracts to
touch the upper teeth. The constriction is therefore displaced, and is
consequently identified in 510. Teeth diacritic 410 is therefore selected
to represent this point of articulation. The enunciation of the "V" sound
also indicates that the degree of constriction is critical, and this is
noted in 515, but this critical constriction is implied in any
labio-dental articulation, so it need not be marked with a specific
diacritic. An extra-oral constriction is required, however, as the "V"
sound must be vocalized, or "voiced," to distinguish it from the "F"
sound. This attribute is noted using the diacritic 405 assigned to
voicing. Finally, at 525, an iconic grapheme 530 is assembled using the
identified collection of glyphs. Grapheme 535 includes all the
information required to represent the phoneme for "V" in GA English, as
this phoneme is the only voiced consonant formed using the lips and
teeth.

[0061]FIG. 6 depicts a consonant constellation 600 for GA English
arranged in columns by primary organ of articulation. Constellation 600
was formed by repeating the process of FIG. 5 for each GA English
consonant phoneme. From left to right, the columns represent: each
consonant for which the primary organ of constriction is the lips, the
tip of the tongue, the body of the tongue, and the root of the tongue.
This grouping can be recreated or extended using the methods detailed
previously. Graphemes within constellation 600 can be simplified for ease
of use. In some embodiments, for example, the graphemes representing one
or more of the sound segments for m, n, ng, l, r, w, and y may omit the
diacritic for voicing, as those sound segments do not have voiceless
counterparts.

[0062] The sound segments for w and y are semivowels, and either or both
can be represented either as a vowel or a consonant. In the instant
example, the w and y phonemes are represented using the, consonantal
graphemes for the lips and tongue body, respectively, with a line
diacritic to distinguish them from other consonants. Embodiments that
represent these phonemes using vowel graphemes can use the same grapheme
of u and w and the same grapheme for i and y.

[0063]FIG. 7 is a flowchart 700 detailing how a vowel phoneme is derived
in accordance with one embodiment. The first step (710) is to determine
the relative openness of the mouth when forming the phoneme of interest.
As depicted in FIG. 8A, the relative openness can be characterized as
nearly closed (low), mid, or open. In this example, relative openness is
represented using from one to three lines, as illustrated in the cross
sections 212 of FIG. 8A.

[0064] The next step in the flowchart of FIG. 7, though the steps need not
be in this order, is to determine the relative horizontal position, or
"backness/frontness," of the speaker's tongue in enunciating the vowel of
interest (step 730). Returning to FIG. 8A, horizontal tongue position can
be characterized as front, central, or back. This embodiment indicates
horizontal tongue position using the slope of the line or lines used to
designate openness. Using the lips as a reference, upward sloping lines
represent a front tongue position, horizontal lines a central position,
and downward sloping lines a back tongue position. Other graphical
representations of openness and backness/frontness can be used in other
embodiments.

[0065] Returning to FIG. 7, the third question for vowels indicates
whether there is any mechanism of weight increasing in the vowel, such as
lengthening or gliding. In this example, glides or weight devices are
categorized as decrescent glides, front crescent glides, back decrescent
glides, back crescent glides, and long vowels. Diacritical or other
identifiers or graphic modifications are assigned as needed. In some
embodiments detailed below, the line or lines developed in steps 710 and
730 are modified as needed to distinguish those with some distinguishing
property noted in step 745.

[0066]FIG. 8B replicates head cross section 212 four times to illustrate
exemplary iconic representations of phonological gestures used to express
a pair of diphthongs, which are gliding monosyllabic speech sounds that
start at or near the articulatory position for one vowel and move to or
toward the position of another. In the example on the left, the
vocal-tract shape morphs from a mid-constriction at the front of the
vocal tract to a near-closed constriction during the enunciation of the
same syllable, as in the vowel sound in "bay." This example represents
this diphthong using two sloped, parallel lines of the starting position
and a diacritic 810 at the front of the grapheme to illustrate that the
final sound is also formed using the front of the mouth. The right-hand
example represents the diphthong for the vowel sound in "how" using three
horizontal lines of the starting position and a diacritic at the end of
the grapheme to illustrate that the final sound is formed using the back
of the mouth. These and other diphthongs are discussed below.

[0067] Some vowel phonemes require some extra-oral constriction, and these
are distinguished in step 770. In this example, these extra-oral
constriction possibilities are identified as in the consonant example of
FIG. 2. Finally, at step 775, an iconic grapheme is assembled based on
the findings from steps 710, 730, 745, and 770.

[0068]FIG. 9 is a flowchart 900 illustrating the construction of a vowel
grapheme using the steps of FIG. 7. This example is applied to the vowel
phoneme "ay," as in bay, but is extensible to any vowel phoneme.

[0069] First, at step 710, the openness is determined to be at the mid
level, and is accordingly assigned two parallel lines 910. The relative
backness of the tongue is front for this phoneme, so step 730 indicates
an upward slope, as illustrated using an arrow 920. The phoneme for "ay"
includes a front-crescent glide, indicated by a small, vertical line
segment at the front of the grapheme, but does not require an extra-oral
constriction. Steps 745 and 770 thus indicate a need for the vertical
line segment as a modification to the basic vowel grapheme. At step 775,
a grapheme 930 is assembled based on the findings from the prior steps.
Grapheme 930 iconically represents a mid degree of openness, a frontal
tongue position, and a frontal glide. In GA English, this collection of
features uniquely identifies the phoneme for "ay."

[0070]FIG. 10 depicts a vowel constellation 1000 for GA English arranged
in rows and columns to indicate the degree of openness and the degree of
frontness, respectively. Among the central phonemes, a curved diacritic
is added to the so-called "rhotacized" versions of the phonemes. These
vowel graphemes can be arrived at using the method described above in
connection with FIG. 9.

[0071] FIG. 11 depicts two vowel graphemes in accordance with one
embodiment. The first represents the front/close vowel sound using a
single, upward-sloping line and an additional horizontal segment to
indicate the phoneme is a "long" vowel (e.g., the "ee" sound in "Bee").
The second represents the back/close vowel sound using a single,
downward-sloping line, and an additional horizontal segment indicates
that the phoneme is a "long" vowel (e.g., the "oo" sound in "Hook").
Though long vowels may not differ in constriction, they can nevertheless
be identified as part of the process of examining for extra-oral
constrictions. Alternatively, the processes discussed previously can be
modified e.g. to include an additional step.

[0072]FIG. 12 depicts five vowel graphemes, one for each diphthong in GA
English, in accordance with one embodiment.

[0073]FIG. 13 shows an iconophonological orthography for GA English in
accordance with one embodiment. The consonant graphemes are modified
slightly as compared with the embodiment of FIG. 6; namely, voiced
consonants are indicated by placing the diacritic within the primary
symbol rather than with a separate diacritic. The difference between and
"F" and a "V" phoneme, for example, is that the dental diacritic is
placed within the lip icon for the latter phoneme. The consonants are
mapped to the IPA symbols for the corresponding sounds. The vowels can
similarly be mapped. The mapping may vary, however, due to perceived
differences in pronunciation and due to phonological processes of
assimilation and dissimilation. In English, different spellings can be
used for the same phoneme (e.g., rude and food have the same vowel
sounds), and the same letter (or combination of letters) can represent
different phonemes (e.g., the "th" consonant sounds of "thin" and "this"
are different). To avoid this confusion based on orthography,
Phonologists represent phonemes by writing them between two slashes: "/
/". On the other hand, references to variations of phonemes or attempts
at representing actual speech sounds are usually enclosed by square
brackets: "[ ]". The symbols of FIG. 13 correspond to phonemes. In other
embodiments the orthography can be expanded, condensed, or otherwise
altered. Such modifications are to be expected, as the phonemes used to
express languages and dialects are subject to interpretation and evolve
with time.

[0074]FIG. 14 is a flowchart 1400 illustrating a method of organizing
graphemes developed as discussed previously to formulate written words
and sentences that parallel the writing structure normally used for the
target language.

[0075] First, at step 1410, an analyst deriving an orthography determines
whether the target language includes consonants occupying the coda
position of syllables. If not, the segments can be considered to be
defined. If so, the analyst may ask a further question: Are the coda
consonants perceived as distinct elements, or are they perceived as being
closely related to the vowels? Distinct coda consonants may be
represented in the same way as the onset consonants. Coda consonants
perceived as having a closer relation with the vowels can be represented
in an iconophonological orthography by diacritics that specify their
phonological features, being these diacritics arranged around the space
of the vowel phoneme of the syllable.

[0076] Next, at step 1420, the analyst determines the desirable level of
phonological representation that an iconophonological orthography for the
language under investigation should use. For example, complete, fully
specified segments may be used, or the orthography can be condensed by
reducing or eliminating redundant features. Examples of such redundancies
are noted below. Next, in step 1430, the arrangement of graphemes in the
conventional writing system for the target language is noted and, if
desirable, replicated with the new orthography. The analyst may
determine, for example, whether graphemes are to be arranged
sequentially, whether syllable rhymes should be positioned below the
onsets, or whether graphemes should be grouped in syllabic blocks.

[0077] The final step 1470 of FIG. 14 is to determine the directionality
of the writing system conventionally associated with the target language.
Should the graphemes be ordered left to right? Top to bottom? Along some
other axis? Cultural preferences of the linguistic society that uses the
target language, as well as legacy issues, present barriers to the
adoption of a new orthography. Syllables, words, and sentences may best
be arranged in the same manner as the conventional writing system to
increase the likelihood of adoption.

[0078]FIG. 15 is a flowchart 1500 illustrating a method of
transliterating words expressed in a first orthography--GA English--into
the iconophonological orthography depicted in FIG. 13. This example
transliterates each of four syllables that make up the words "writing
system" into homophonic representations based on the iconophonological
graphemes discussed above. The method can, of course, be extended to any
other words or phrases for which constituent features and gestures are
represented in FIG. 13.

[0079] Beginning with step 1505, the words "writing system" are provided
as input, such as during the transliteration of a document recorded using
the English Alphabet. The alphabetic words are broken into syllables and
represented phonologically (step 1520), as shown in phonology 1525. Step
1520 can be accomplished using available phonological dictionaries of the
English language, which are readily available to those of skill in the
art. Finally, in step 1530, the phonology of 1525 is mapped to the
orthography of FIG. 13. This mapping is illustrated to the right of the
flowchart, and leads to the representation of 1535.

[0080] The process illustrated in flowchart 1500 can be implemented on a
general-purpose or dedicated computer system. In one embodiment, for
example, a database correlates English words to their corresponding
transliterations, allowing an application program to make the requisite
substitutions. Such systems can be applied to e.g. electronic and
physical books and magazines and myriad resources available via the
Internet. In other embodiments phonemes or collections of phonemes from
spoken speech can be transcribed into English and transliterated into an
iconophonological orthography, or can be transcribed directly into the
iconophonological orthography. An exemplary computer system is detailed
below in connection with FIG. 27.

[0081] The example of FIG. 15 groups graphemes syllabically from left to
right, though other arrangements might also be used. The graphemes might
also be arranged sequentially and segmentally, as are alphabetical
symbols in English. The terms "writing system" derived in FIG. 15,
arranged sequentially, would read:

This example illustrates that graphemes in accordance with these
embodiments can be distorted to fit different form factors without losing
their iconic properties.

[0082]FIG. 16 illustrates how a reader of the iconophonological
orthography in accordance with the embodiments described in connection
with FIG. 13 can sound out the word "system" derived in the example of
FIG. 15. The first syllable, pronounced "sis," begins with the grapheme
representing the tip of the tongue as the primary organ of construction
and including a diacritic that stands for the alveolar fricative. The
corresponding vocal-tract cross section reminds the reader of the
placement of the tongue and includes graphic representation of a burst of
air to represent the fricative. Placing the tongue as indicated, and
adding the fricative, creates the "s" sound. This first phoneme of a
syllable is termed the "onset."

[0083] The vowel portion of "sis" is represented using a single line
sloped upward. As described previously, this represents a relatively
closed vowel sound formed at the front of the mouth. Forming the vocal
tract according to this prescription produces the sound "i". The final
phoneme of the first syllable, referred to as the coda, is once again
represented using the grapheme that iconically indicates the tongue tip
and fricative. The reader combines these three sounds to produce the
syllable "sis."

[0084] The second syllable is sounded out in the same fashion as the
first. The onset is similar to the last syllable, but lacks the
fricative. Absent a secondary point of articulation, the tip of the
tongue forms the "t" consonant sound. The nucleus of the syllable is the
same as for the last syllable. The coda is, as shown in the vocal-tract
cross section, formed using the lips and includes the nasal diacritic to
indicate a secondary point of articulation. The sound formed using the
lips and nose is the consonant sound for "m." The reader is thus able to
recreate the encoded word.

[0085] These graphemes used in FIG. 15 are iconographic, which makes them
relatively easy to remember. The iconicity is based on features of the
vocal tract rather than things or ideas, which greatly reduces the
requisite number of symbols. Graphemes of the type described in
connection with these embodiments thus provide extraordinary economy for
representing, teaching, and learning orthographies. The orthography of
FIG. 13, for example, employs just ten iconic symbols, logically grouped
by organ of articulation, to represent all the consonant sounds. All the
vowel sounds are represented by simple organizations of lines. Both the
consonant and vowel graphemes are constructed following logical rules
that make the orthography easy to learn. Indeed, a reader familiar with
the patterns and symbols used to express the sounds can easily extend the
symbol set to unknown or forgotten phonemes, or can sound out unknown or
forgotten graphemes.

[0086] Though easy to learn, the graphemes of FIG. 13 can be cumbersome
due to the potentially large number of glyphs used to represent a given
syllable. Other embodiments therefore simplify the iconic structure of
the graphemes. A brief discussion of basic syllable structure will be
helpful in understanding how the iconophonological orthography described
above can be further simplified.

[0087] A syllable is a sound structure that includes a central vowel (V)
with one or more leading consonants (C), one or more trailing consonants,
or both leading and trailing consonants. The vowel sound makes up the
nucleus, which is the only requirement of a well-formed syllable. Leading
and trailing consonants, if any, are used to form a syllable's "onset"
and "coda," respectively. Together, the nucleus and the coda constitute
the "rhyme" of a syllable. A syllable can be graphically depicted as
follows:

##STR00001##

[0088] The most common type of syllable consists of a single consonant and
a single vowel, and are referred to as CV syllables. Any consonant sound
can occur at the onset of a CV syllable. The onset can also include
additional consonant sounds. English, for example, includes CCV syllables
(e.g., flee), and CCCV syllables (e.g., straw). Adjacent consonant sounds
are limited, however. If an English CCV syllable begins with /b/, for
example, the next consonant sound may be an /r/ or an /l/, but may not be
a /k/ or an /s/. CCCV syllables are even more limited, and always begin
with /s/.

[0089] Many languages allow consonants in the coda position, in which case
a different set of restrictions apply. In English, for example, a lone
consonant in a coda can be most any consonant. If there are two
consonants in the coda, however, the second must be an obstruent, a sound
produced by the stoppage of air. Examples include waft and adze. If there
are three coda consonants, the last must be an /s/.

[0090] The restrictions on consonant and vowel placement within syllables
are well known. Those of skill in the art refer to this topic as
"phonotactics." In the context of iconophonological orthographies of the
type described herein, a phonotactical understanding of phototactical
restrictions for the target language, such as the limitations for
consonant placement in the onset or coda of a given syllable, often
allows for a more efficient orthographic representation. Native speakers
and readers are generally not conscious of these restrictions, so it is
beneficial that analysts generating orthographies of the type disclosed
herein know the phonotactical restrictions for the target language. Such
knowledge is referred to as "linguistic competence."

[0091]FIG. 17A illustrates how the graphical representations of the
single-syllable word "springs," a CCCVCCC syllable, can be simplified in
accordance with one embodiment. The idea is to divide syllables into
their constituent components and represent them iconically using
techniques detailed above. At the left, a column of symbols 1700, taken
from the orthography of FIG. 13, represents the word "springs"
iconophonologically using the techniques detailed previously. Due to the
number of consonants, the expressed syllable is relatively "tall" and
includes a considerable number of glyphs, and a lot of redundancy in
terms of features represented. While relatively easy to decipher,
particularly to the new reader, this syllabic representation can be
cumbersome. Some embodiments therefore condense such syllables by
removing redundant information.

[0092] For example, CCCVCCC syllables always begin and end with /s/, so
the /s/grapheme need not be completely represented to distinguish it from
other possibilities. Referring to the condensed representation 1705 at
the right, the "˜" is included within the /p/symbol to represent
the /s/ in the onset. The tip of the tongue is not specified because the
other consonants illustrated using the fricative diacritic (/z/, /si/,
and /h/) cannot hold this consonant position. Specifying the primary
organ of articulation in this instance would therefore be redundant. The
" " diacritic, which represents the curved tongue for the /r/ consonant,
is also included in the /p/ symbol.

[0093] The arrangement of the diacritics also provides some information to
the reader. Syllables are arranged in this embodiment so that the passage
of time, from first phoneme to last, is generally represented from top to
bottom. Placing the fricative diacritic above the curved-tongue diacritic
indicates that the former is enunciated first in the syllable.

[0094] Representation 1705 also simplifies the coda, in part by making
reference to the position in the vocal tract used to express the
specified gesture. With reference to FIG. 13, the nasal diacritic can be
used to indicate the consonant sounds /m/, /n/, /si/, or /ng/. Starting
with the sound for /m/, which is formed by the lips at the front of the
vocal tract, these sounds are formed progressively toward the back of the
vocal tract. The nasal diacritic in representation 1705 is placed toward
the right of the symbol to indicate that it is a "back" sound, and is
above the fricative diacritic to indicate that it precedes the fricative
sound in time. This arrangement uniquely identifies the coda without the
need for a separate iconic representation of the primary organs of
articulation for the /ng/ and /s/ sounds. The regions of the nucleus and
coda overlap in this instance for space efficiency, but can be maintained
in separate areas in other embodiments.

[0095]FIG. 17B illustrates how "strengths," a CCCVCCC syllable, can be
simplified using the procedure discussed in connection with FIG. 17A. The
/s/ and /r/ sounds are as in the prior example, but the middle consonants
sound is the /t/, which is articulated using the tip of the tongue. The
onset symbol is modified accordingly. The nasal diacritic is placed high
and on the right, which means the first consonant sound in the coda is at
the back of the voice tract. This can only be the /ng/ sound. The
diacritic for teeth is positioned temporally after and in the middle
position. The middle teeth placement distinguishes this consonant sound
from the other "teeth" sound, the /v/ formed at the front of the vocal
tract. Finally, the fricative diacritic is also at the front, which
distinguishes that /s/ sound from the /sh/ and /h/ sounds. In this case,
"front" is not the same for an /s/ as for an /f/, but is relative to
other sounds identified using the same diacritic. In other embodiments
the regions of a syllable can be used more consistently. For example the
regions can be divided into four columns, one for each primary organ of
constriction.

[0096] The positions of the diacritics are helpful, but may be redundant.
In the example of FIG. 17B, the /s/ is the only possible final consonant
in the coda, so its position is not needed to uniquely distinguish it
from other fricative consonants. Likewise, positioning the teeth
diacritic in the middle as an indication of vocal-tract position is
helpful but redundant, as no English syllable ends in /gvs/. Other
arrangements and simplifications might similarly be employed.

[0097]FIG. 17c depicts iconophonological representations 1710, 1715,
1720, and 1725 of single-syllable words to illustrate how such syllables
can be condensed in accordance with one embodiment. In the symbol 1719
for the CVCCC syllable "tempt," the coda is specified using the nasal
diacritic--to indicate its temporal position in the coda--and to the left
to distinguish it from the nasal sounds formed farther back in the vocal
tract. The last consonant sound in the coda is depicted using the symbol
for the tip of the tongue, which can be placed inside the /p/ grapheme
without creating ambiguity in this example.

[0098] Representations 1715, 1720, and 1725 depict the single-syllable
words "rough", "rove", and "wraith", respectively. Each begins with the
/r/ sound, and represents the onset accordingly. The nuclei are vowel
sounds from FIG. 13, and thus require no additional description here. The
different codas all include the teeth diacritic positioned to distinguish
between the forward sounds /f/ and /v/ and the more rearward sound /th/.
The coda of representation 1720 includes a dot to indicate that the teeth
sound is to be vocalized.

[0099] Methods for teaching iconophonological orthographies of the type
disclosed herein can present early readers with relatively complete
syllabic or sequential graphemes. Graphemes that omit some structural
detail in favor of space efficiency can be introduced gradually as the
reader gains experience with the orthography. Computer-based embodiments
can allow the reader to select orthographic representations based on the
reader's skill or preference. A new reader may, for example, prefer an
orthography that is relatively rich in detail to best depict features and
gestures, whereas a more experienced reader may prefer a more condensed
and economic representation. The same flexibility can be provided for
sequential and syllabic representations of the orthographies, and for the
arrangements of graphemes on a page.

[0100]FIG. 18 is a flowchart 1800 illustrating a method by which
orthographies in accordance with some embodiments can be stylized to
reflect cultural aesthetics of the population for which the new
orthography is to be introduced. Such adaptations can increase
sociolinguistics acceptance of the orthography.

[0101] In step 1805, the analyst determines whether a suitable cultural
icon on a symbol exists for a given feature. A polygon is used to
symbolize the mouth in the foregoing embodiment, for example, but the
symbol for a mouth might be replaced with one that is more suitable or
typical of the culture associated with the target population. Similarly,
in step 1810, the analyst may incorporate some form of graphic art into
the orthography. Hawaiian statues often depict the tongue as a
downward-pointed triangle, for example, in which case the symbol for the
tongue could adopt this shape.

[0102] The next determination is whether strokes or lines in the graphemes
have or can be given some culturally identified characteristic (1815).
Returning to the Hawaiian example, steps or waves are traditional
Hawaiian symbols, and can be incorporated into the features used to
express a Hawaiian orthography. Examples of Mandarin graphemes stylized
in accordance with steps 1805, 1810, and 1815 are detailed below.

[0103] The final step of method 1800 is to coin a name for the orthography
target to a language of interest. "Uniskript®" is a sample name for an
English orthography.

[0104]FIG. 19 depicts an orthography in accordance with an embodiment
that includes thirty-one graphemes to represent Beijing Mandarin. As with
the GA English orthography detailed previously, this embodiment is
similarly iconophonological, and consequently relatively easy to learn
and comprehend. The Mandarin graphemes are also stylized for a Chinese
sensibility, which further reduces resistance to adoption. These
thirty-one letters are used to form fifty-seven graphic elements for
expressing Mandarin in accordance with this embodiment. These elements
make up an Orthography presently called "Uniskript® Mandarin" (UM),
and are detailed below.

[0105]FIG. 20 depicts graphic elements used to represent labial
consonants, and references them to phonemes, phonetics, and Pinyin forms
to facilitate pronunciation. A reference code is an alphanumeric code in
which the letters represent placement within a syllable, O for onset, R
for rhyme, and T for tone. In one embodiment, a UM keyboard uses a single
key for each onset and another for each rhyme. All elements of the rhyme
are grouped together in only one keystroke in order to follow the
traditional approach of the Chinese literature and linguistics, which
highlights the internal structural unity of the elements occupying this
position. This decision also reflects the linguistic intuitions of the
Mandarin native speakers, who perceive even the most complex rhymes as
one single segment. Other embodiments might also be used.

[0106] All elements numbered with a reference code are composed by one or
more of the letters depicted in FIG. 19. UM uses only thirty-one
graphemes to write any possible word of Beijing Mandarin. The onsets of
the syllables are formed by one of the following eighteen consonant
graphemes, while the rhymes of the syllables are formed by combinations
of the five vowels and the three coda possibilities. Each syllable
receives one of five tone specifications.

[0107]FIG. 21 depicts graphemes used to represent velar and alveolar
consonants, and references them to phonemes, phonetics, and Pinyin forms
to facilitate pronunciation, and to a reference code described previously
for use with an embodiment of a UM keyboard.

[0108]FIG. 22 depicts graphemes used to represent palatal/retroflex
consonants and single vowels with the same references provided
previously.

[0109]FIG. 23 depicts graphemes used to represent crescent diphthongs,
decrescent diphthongs, and triphthongs with the same references provided
previously.

[0110]FIG. 24 depicts graphemes used to represent high-high diphthongs,
single vowels with alveolar coda, and single vowels with velar coda with
the same references provided previously.

[0111]FIG. 25 depicts graphemes used to represent single vowels with
retroflex coda, vowel glides with alveolar coda, and vowel glides with
velar coda using the same references provided previously.

[0112]FIG. 26 depicts graphemes used to represent tones using the same
references provided previously.

[0113] FIGS. 27A and 27B are two sheets of a questionnaire that may be
employed by an analyst to develop orthographies in the manner detailed
above. The questionnaire is divided into four categories, vowels, onset
consonants, writing structure, and cultural aesthetics. Each category is
subdivided into four questions, the answers to which inform the type of
notation used to create the orthography of interest. In developing an
orthography, the categories can be addressed together or in any order.
Aspects of orthographies developed in accordance with embodiments
disclosed herein can be refined, and are expected to evolve over time.

[0114]FIG. 28 and the following discussion provide a brief, general
description of a suitable computing environment in which the claimed
subject matter may be implemented. Although not required,
iconophonological orthographies and associated methods in accordance with
the foregoing embodiments can be implemented using computer-executable
instructions, such as program modules, executed by a computer. Generally,
program modules include routines, programs, objects, components, data
structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular
abstract data types. Those of skill in the art will appreciate various
types of computer systems and configurations, including hand-held
devices, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable
consumer electronics, network PCs, minicomputers, mainframe computers,
and the like, can be used to exhibit, translate, and transliterate as
detailed above. Methods of exhibiting, translating, and transliterating
iconophonological orthographies may also be practiced in distributed
computing environments where tasks are performed by remote processing
devices that are linked through a communications network. In a
distributed computing environment, program modules may be located in both
local and remote memory storage devices.

[0115] With reference to FIG. 28, an exemplary computing system for
exhibiting, translating, and transliterating iconophonological
orthographies in accordance with the foregoing embodiments includes a
general purpose computing device in the form of a conventional personal
computer 2820, including a processing unit 2821, a system memory 2822,
and a system bus 2823 that couples various system components including
the system memory to the processing unit 2821. The system bus 2823 may be
any of several types of bus structures, including a memory bus or memory
controller, a peripheral bus, and a local bus using any of a variety of
bus architectures. The system memory includes read only memory (ROM) 2824
and random access memory (RAM) 2825. A basic input/output system 2828
(BIOS), containing the basic routines that help to transfer information
between elements within the personal computer 2820, such as during
start-up, is stored in ROM 2824. The personal computer 2820 further
includes a hard disk drive 2828 for reading from and writing to a hard
disk, not shown, a magnetic disk drive 2828 for reading from or writing
to a removable magnetic disk 2829, and an optical disk drive 2830 for
reading from or writing to optical disk 2831 such as a CD ROM or other
optical media. The hard disk drive 2828, magnetic disk drive 2828, and
optical disk drive 2830 are connected to the system bus 2823 by a hard
disk drive interface 2832, a magnetic disk drive interface 2833, and an
optical drive interface 2834, respectively. Other drives, such as Flash
memory, might also be used. The drives and their associated
computer-readable media provide volatile and nonvolatile storage of
computer readable instructions, data structures, program modules and
other data.

[0116] A number of program modules may be stored on the hard disk,
magnetic disk 2829, optical disk 2831, ROM 2824 or RAM 2825, including an
operating system 2835, one or more application programs 2836, other
program modules 2837, and program data 2838. A user may enter commands
and information into the personal computer 2820 through input devices
such as a keyboard 2840 and pointing device 2842. Other input devices
(not shown) may include a microphone, joystick, game pad, satellite dish,
scanner, or the like. These and other input devices are often connected
to the processing unit 2821 through a serial port interface 2846 that is
coupled to the system bus, but may be connected by other interfaces, such
as a parallel port, game port or a universal serial bus (USB). A monitor
2847 or other type of display device is also connected to the system bus
2823 via an interface, such as a video adapter 2848. In addition to the
monitor, personal computers typically include other peripheral output
devices (not shown), such as speakers and printers.

[0117] The personal computer 2820 may operate in a networked environment
using logical connections to one or more remote computers. The remote
computer 2849 may be another personal computer, a server, a router, a
network PC, a peer device or other common network node, and typically
includes many or all of the elements described above relative to the
personal computer 2820. The logical connections depicted in FIG. 28
include a wired or wireless local area network (LAN) 2851, though other
types of connections are also common and may be supported. Such
networking environments are commonplace in offices, enterprise-wide
computer networks, intranets and the Internet.

[0118] When used in a LAN networking environment, the personal computer
2820 is connected to the local network 2851 through a network interface
or adapter 2853. When used in a wide-area network (WAN) networking
environment, the personal computer 2820 typically includes a modem or
other means for establishing communications over the wide area network
2852, such as the Internet. In a networked environment, program modules
depicted relative to the personal computer 2820, or portions thereof, may
be stored in the remote memory storage device. It will be appreciated
that the network connections shown are exemplary and other means of
establishing a communications link between the computers may be used.

[0119] The foregoing descriptions of embodiments of the present invention
have been presented only for purposes of illustration and description.
They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention
to the forms disclosed. Accordingly, many modifications and variations
will be apparent to practitioners skilled in the art. Additionally, the
above disclosure is not intended to limit the present invention, which is
instead defined by the appended claims.